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Smile-on News

3D printing for oral and dental tissue engineering explored

30 June 2015

The International and American Associations for Dental Research (IADR/AADR) have published a case report on the first application of a 3D printed scaffold for periodontal tissue engineering in a human patient, along with a review of 3D printing for oral and craniofacial engineering.

Published in the latest clinical supplement to the Journal of Dental Research, the case report provides the first report human case of treatment of a large periodontal osseous defect with a 3D printed, bioresorbable, patient-specific, polymer scaffold and signalling growth factor.

It described how a patient diagnosed with severe destruction of periodontal tissues presented for treatment to preserve his dentition. The treated site remained intact for 12 months following therapy but failed at 13 months. Although this case was unsuccessful long term, the authors believe that it warrants future study on how 3D printing can be implemented for the reconstruction of dental and craniofacial anomalies.

In the accompanying review, a research team describe different 3D bioprinting methods, as well as summarising how different classes of biomaterials (polymers, hydrogels, ceramics, composites and cell-aggregates) may be utilised for 3D biomanufacturing of scaffolds, as well as craniofacial analogues.

The papers and the companion podcast interview with Drs. Luiz Bertassoni and Scott J. Hollister are available online at http://jdr.sagepub.com